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Coastline Surveys is proud to have been awarded ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System Accreditation to cover their full service provision in the riverine, coastal and offshore sectors.

Coastline Surveys is dedicated to maintaining their faultless health and safety record and this comes as a welcome addition to their existing ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditations. It is also testimony to the hard work of all the staff within the company.

Coastline has always recognised the importance of a robust HSEQ policy within the company and has diligently maintained a strict approach to safe practise by all employees at all times in every project. This conscientious approach is paying dividends in new and emerging markets with numerous contract awards for Coastline from some very high profile clients in the renewable sector who consistently demand a strictly documented health & safety culture and recognise the standards that Coastline are achieving.

Despite being one of the very few remaining independent survey companies in the UK the company is proving that it can maintain a strong hold in both the geotechnical and geophysical survey markets and deliver on safety and quality at all times.

Continuing their programme of investment and development Coastline Surveys has successfully completed the first phase of the permanent installation of a full bathymetric survey suite on board their 24m survey vessel, the MV FlatHolm.

The range of high-tech state-of-art survey equipment includes the R2SONIC 2024 High Resolution Wide Band Multibeam Echosounder, an IxBlue Hydrins Inertial Navigation System and an Edge Tech 4200 Dual Frequency sidescan sonar with Discover and SonarWiz software.

Coastline has recognised the ever increasing importance of the role multibeam technology is playing within the offshore construction market and has reacted to meet that demand with the installation of the highly flexible and reliable SONIC2024 multibeam system. The Coastline team had previously deployed the MBES system from MV FlatHolm on a number of projects including a wreck survey in the Southern North Sea where they were able to achieve remarkably high quality results in a very short space of time due to the flexible frequencies which can be changed on the fly during survey operations, in a range of water depths.

Integrating with the SONIC2024, Coastline has also installed the Hydrins high performance Inertial Navigation System, which delivers highly accurate real time positions, attitude and velocity data in a compact single unit. The system is permanently installed close to the approximate centre of gravity of the vessel with motion and heading information fed to the survey room onboard.

The final addition in this first phase of upgrades is the EdgeTech 4200 sidescan sonar system which will be available for rapid deployment from the vessel and can be configured for virtually all survey applications providing high resolution imagery at ranges up to 50% greater than non–CHIRP systems.

The second phase of system upgrades onboard the MV FlatHolm will include the addition of a Geometrics 882 Magnetometer which will be permanently installed on the vessel within a matter of weeks. This will combine to provide a sensor suite that further enhances the versatility of MV FlatHolm and productivity as a geophysical survey platform.

Within days of installation, the new suite of survey equipment was successfully deployed on a major renewable energy project Coastline has been awarded on the South Coast. Having completed a programme of geotechnical sampling and bathymetric survey this contract will shortly move into its third phase and will concentrate on ROV cable burial survey operations from MV FlatHolm in conjunction with Suffolk-based specialists Innovatum Ltd.

To discuss any upcoming projects, both geophysical and geotechnical with which Coastline can assist, please contact Survey Manager Andy Johnson or Managing Director David Hitchcock on 01326 311220 – or alternatively visit www.coastlinesurveys.co.uk for updates on the latest news and services

Coastline Surveys has completed a geotechnical investigation of the seabed cable route at the proposed Navitus Bay offshore wind park, off the South coast of England.

Coastline Surveys, the Falmouth-based marine data consultancy, was delighted to be chosen to extend previous phases of work as the main contractor on such a high profile project. The team have provided geotechnical expertise to examine the viability of the proposed cable route that will transport energy from the wind park to shore.

Mike Unsworth, Project Manager for Navitus Bay, said: “We have worked with Coastline Surveys during previous phases of the project. The team’s thorough knowledge of the project, combined with their geotechnical expertise and extensive experience of working along the south coast, made them the obvious choice for this latest piece of work.”

Utilising its own 24m survey vessel, MV Flatholm, along with their C-COREHP vibrocorer, Coastline Surveys successfully completed sampling at 22 locations along the planned route for the cable. The route runs from the shoreline to approximately 12 miles off shore.

A key requirement for Navitus Bay was the acquisition of high quality samples for environmental and potential archaeological analysis.

On investigating the ocean floor, the team expected to find marine sands overlaying bedrock, with a range of depths throughout the area. It soon became clear that the site was made up of a variety of soil conditions ranging from soft silts to dense sand and clays.

Navitus Bay required undisturbed quality samples where possible, but particularly around the palaeochannels, where fine grained material and peat deposits were also expected.

Coastline Survey’s C-COREHP unit has a real-time Penetrometer fitted to it, to monitor the rate of penetration during sampling. This was especially invaluable in areas of softer loose sediments as it allowed the geotechnical team to recover high quality samples with reduced disturbance.

The stiff clays and dense sands that the team encountered presented a different kind of challenge. The class leading power and weight of the C-COREHP unit meant the team were able to achieve good depths in these conditions, penetrating the ground up to one metre into the underlying stiff clay in some locations. The penetrometer was particularly useful in these difficult conditions allowing the team to realise when they wouldn’t be able to recover any more sediment. As a result, the team were able to terminate their tests when appropriate, saving time and costs whilst preserving sample integrity.

Lab testing and reporting was completed at Coastline’s facility in Lowestoft. The Geotechnical logs, soil descriptions and core photography provided to Navitus Bay were of sufficient quality and standard to assist with identification of archaeological features.

Mike Unsworth added: “The breadth and depth of knowledge of the ocean floor that the geotechnical investigation has given us is vital to the technical development of Navitus Bay.

“We are very pleased with the high standard of work provided by Coastline Surveys, and hope to work with the team again in the future.”

The work was largely conducted in challenging environmental conditions with strong tidal currents and the requirement for shallow water operations close to the shoreline. However, the experience of the team, which includes extensive investigations on the nearby marine aggregate dredging licences, enabled them to complete the workscope in two highly-productive twelve hour days.

The Marine Offshore Renewables (MOR) group was officially launched last month and is already attracting a lot of interest from the marine renewables sector in Devon and Cornwall and nationwide.

Representatives will be attending the All Energy Conference in Aberdeen on May 23 and 24 (stand D81e) to promote their objectives and demonstrate how they can support and develop emerging commercial opportunities in the South West.

The aim of the group is to provide a unified supply chain voice from the far South West, encourage the development of offshore renewable energy within its waters, and to provide project developers and other clients with an integrated local supply chain all within one single professional brand.

The launch event for the group in Saltash in April saw speakers from Cornish marine renewables companies A&P Group, Mojo Maritime and Insight Marine Projects Ltd highlight the benefits that MOR membership will bring to businesses that currently supply, or plan to supply services to the offshore marine renewable industry. It explained how the MOR group fits into the wider industry and the new South West Marine Energy Park (SWMEP), plus the exciting events that it has planned in the coming months.

MOR is a sub-group within Cornwall Marine Network (CMN) and was formed by a network of like-minded businesses that are currently providing services to the marine and offshore renewable industry around the UK and overseas.

MOR group chairman Steve Roue said: “It is great to see some of the country’s leading specialists in the renewable energy industry coming together to promote both an industry and a region, whilst providing developers and operators an experienced supply chain which can work together to provide integrated services for the installation and maintenance of their projects.”

MOR also aims to jointly market the skills and expertise of local companies to the national and international renewable energy industry, and to promote partnering between members to enable them to tender for some of the larger or more diversified contracts.

The group is based in the South West (Devon & Cornwall), but many of its members currently provide products and services to renewable energy clients throughout the UK and Europe, and as such will form an important part of the much publicised “South West Marine Energy Park”.

For further information about MOR, details on membership and to sign up to the MOR newsletter, visit www.morenewables.co.uk or call 01326 211382. Or come along to stand D81e at the conference.

The Marine Offshore Renewables (MOR) group was officially launched last week and is already attracting a lot of interest from the marine renewables sector here in Devon and Cornwall and nationwide.

The launch event in Saltash saw speakers from Cornish marine renewables companies A&P Group, Mojo Maritime and Insight Marine Projects Ltd highlight the benefits that MOR membership could bring to businesses that currently supply, or plan to supply, services to the offshore marine renewable industry. It explained how the MOR group fits into the wider industry and the new South West Marine Energy Park (SWMEP), plus the exciting events that it has planned in the coming months.

MOR is a sub-group within Cornwall Marine Network (CMN) and was formed by a network of like-minded businesses that are currently providing services to the marine and offshore renewable industry around the UK and overseas.

The aim of the group is to provide a unified supply chain voice from the far South West, encourage the development of offshore renewable energy within its waters, and to provide project developers and other clients with an integrated local supply chain all within one single professional brand.

MOR group chairman Steve Roue said: “It is great to see some of the country’s leading specialists in the renewable energy industry coming together to promote both an industry and a region, whilst providing developers and operators an experienced supply chain which can work together to provide integrated services for the installation and maintenance of their projects.”

MOR also aims to jointly market the skills and expertise of local companies to the national and international renewable energy industry, and to promote partnering between members to enable them to tender for some of the larger or more diversified contracts.

The group is based in the South West (Devon & Cornwall), but many of its members currently provide products and services to renewable energy clients throughout the UK and Europe, and as such will form an important part of the much publicised “South West Marine Energy Park”.

For further information about MOR, details on membership and to sign up to the MOR newsletter, visit www.morenewables.co.uk or call 01326 211382

The team behind FabTest, Cornwall’s pioneering marine energy test site in Falmouth, has welcomed the first wave device to be installed in its waters.

Fred Olsen’s BOLT “Lifesaver” wave energy converter, which is ultimately capable of producing clean and efficient electricity, is now being tested in the sheltered waters off Falmouth Bay, with easy access to the shore.

Cornwall has cemented a growing international reputation for leadership in marine energy research and development, with the Fred Olsen installation a real success story for the industry. The device was manufactured at A&P Falmouth, one of the UK’s leading shipyards, will be tested at FabTest, part of the South West Marine Energy Park, and potentially deployed in more energetic offshore waters at the grid connected Wave Hub site off the Cornish coast near Hayle. Another local company, Insight Marine Projects Ltd provided pre-installation hydrographic services and vessel positioning support during deployment.

In January the South West was named as the UK’s first Marine Energy Park, creating a collaborative partnership between commercial and academic organisations, with the aim of speed up the progress of marine power development.

Wave and tidal energy has the potential to generate up to 27GW of power in the UK alone by 2050, equivalent to the power generated from 8 coal-fired power stations. A study commissioned by the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) and published in 2010 calculated there are sufficient marine energy resources for commercial use within 50 km of the South West coast to deliver 9.2 Giga Watts (GW) of electricity, equivalent to the annual needs of 20% of UK households, or 5% of the UK’s electricity needs by 2030.

The unique FabTest site, which is not connected to the grid, gives developers the chance to test devices in a near shore environment that is easily accessible. Tests include investigating structural integrity, response behaviour, mooring/umbilical behaviour, subsea components, monitoring systems and deployment procedures in moderate sea conditions.

It is a stepping stone to the deployment of arrays of devices at Wave Hub, the world’s largest grid-connected wave energy demonstration facility installed 16 kilometres off the north coast of Cornwall in 2010.

FabTest was created as a partnership project between Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC), Wave Hub, the University of Exeter, A&P Group, Cornwall Marine Network and Mojo Maritime, all of whom provide advice, expertise and support to the industry. The integrated test site is around a mile south of St Anthony Head and can also test floating wind energy devices.

(FHC) and The Crown Estate have signed a lease to create FabTest, and the site has been issued with a license by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which allows the mooring of marine energy converter devices. The management of the site will be undertaken by a partnership between FHC and the University of Exeter.

David Ellis, Chairman of Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, said: “The deployment of the BOLT “Lifesaver” device is an historic moment, not only for Falmouth but for the entire marine renewable sector in the South West.

“We set up FabTest in response to demand from industry and are proud to have been instrumental in getting this groundbreaking project up and running. It is the only example of which we are aware of a harbour authority taking out a Crown Estate lease for the purposes of testing marine energy devices – it is very unusual.

“FabTest means we can offer a streamlined approval process for individual devices to be deployed in an area with a range of depth and seabed types in a location that does not interfere with marine traffic.

“The pre-consented area in Falmouth Bay is licensed to test up to three devices at a time. Judging by the high level of interest, we expect there will be a steady stream of device deployments to follow.”

Tore Gulli, Project Director, of Fred. Olsen Ltd., said: “Through the extensive marine experiences of Fred. Olsen related companies we have learned the considerable value that detailed, careful sea testing of new marine devices offers projects such as BOLT “Lifesaver”. We very much welcome the initiative from Falmouth Harbour Commission, University of Exeter and the other partners to make the FabTest a reality. We are proud to be the first user of the facility seeing our wave energy converter deployed successfully.”

Paul Weston, Marine Renewable Projects Manager, of A&P Falmouth, said: “As a company recognised for working at the forefront of the marine renewables sector, A&P Falmouth is delighted to have been involved in this exciting project with Fred Olsen over the past year.

“Working closely with Fred Olsen, our highly skilled employees carried out the manufacture and steel fabrication of the device, while maintaining a production engineering cost analysis designed to reduce the cost of energy.

“We believe the South West is realising its objective to become a leading region in marine renewable energy and are perfectly positioned to support the development and growth of the sector.”

Wave Hub General Manager Claire Gibson, said: “This deployment is a real milestone for Cornwall’s marine energy industry and the partnership between the Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, local companies and academic expertise has been key to enabling this to happen. It reinforces the status of South West England as the UK’s first Marine Energy Park. We hope the Lifesaver trials at FabTest go well and look forward to welcoming Fred Olsen at Wave Hub for grid-connected trials of an array of Lifesavers in the near future. ”

Chris Pomfret, Chairman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Green energy and particularly realising the potential from the marine environment is a real opportunity for Cornwall where we should be in the vanguard of world development. FabTest and Wave Hub are key assets and are significant parts of the South West Marine Energy Park. It will be a great step forward if the test results are positive.”

Rob Hastings, Director of Energy and Infrastructure, The Crown Estate said: “This is excellent news for the industry. As it makes the transition from technology R&D to commercial project development, further technology testing is essential and FabTest is playing an important role. The Crown Estate is also pleased to be working with RegenSW and other stakeholders in the south west of England to start planning for commercial-scale wave and tidal project development in the future.”

I am very pleased to announce that The Marine Offshore Renewables (MOR)
group will officially launch this month!

The Marine Offshore Renewables group (MOR) was formed by a network of
like-minded businesses that are currently providing services to the marine
and offshore renewable industry.

The aim of the MOR group is to provide a unified “industry” voice from the
South West, encourage the development of Offshore Renewable Energy within
our waters, and to provide project developers and other clients with an
integrated local supply chain all within one single professional brand.

We also aim to jointly market the skills and expertise of local companies
to the wider renewable energy industry, and to promote partnering between
members.

The MOR group is based in the South West (Devon & Cornwall), but many of
its members currently provide products and services to renewable energy
clients throughout the UK and Europe, and as such will form an important
part of the much publicised “South West Marine Energy Park”.

Membership is now open and we would like to cordially invite you to our
first membership event, aimed specifically at companies that currently
supply or plan to supply services to the Marine Offshore Renewable
industry, so that you can meet us and see how the MOR group could benefit
your business.

MOR group: Membership launch event

Date: Weds 18th April

Time: 4pm – 7pm

Venue: Pacific Suite, China Fleet, Saltash

Cost: Free, please RSVP by 12th April

Teas, coffees and pasties will be provided

Agenda

16.00: Coffee and Registration

16.40: Welcome

16.45: Introduction to the MOR Group – who, what, where, why. How to
join.

17.00: How MOR interacts with the SWMEP and the wider marine renewable
industry

17.15: What we’ve got planned

17.30: Questions and Discussion

17.45: Networking over pasty supper and teas/coffees

19:00: Finish

There will be an opportunity to join the MOR Group throughout the event.

For more information on the MOR group and how to join, please see the
attached documents, or look on our website www.morenewables.co.uk

We hope that you will be able to join us at China Fleet. Could you please
let us know by 12 th April if you or any of your colleagues are able
attend, by emailing names to info@morenewables.co.uk

If you cannot make this event then please come and see MOR at All Energy
2012 where we will be exhibiting on the South West Marine Energy Park stand
(D81) and if you cannot make the launch but would like to join please fill
in the attached membership application form.

Having live current speed and heading data is critical to the success of any tidal turbine installation where subsea operations are limited to extremely narrow windows. Until now the only way to obtain accurate, live data has been to deploy a separate work vessel equipped with current monitoring equipment wasting fuel, time and money.

Mojo Maritime have developed a highly stable current monitoring buoy that is capable of being deployed on sites with extreme current speeds and transmits live current profile and heading data to the installation vessel. The buoy was deployed for the first time in July 2011 at the EMEC site, Orkneys, during the successful installation of a mono-pile for the Voith tidal turbine.

Managing Director of Mojo Maritime Richard Parkinson commented, “Working at the EMEC site is extremely difficult as the tidal current is so unpredictable, some days slack water can be up to an hour ahead or behind predictions and the rapid change of current speed and direction can really upset subsea lifting operations…Having the buoy meant we always had extremely reliable current data so we could make the best use of the working windows and were never caught out when the current decided to rapidly change.”

Conventional buoys are not suitable for use on strong tidal current sites as the drag forces pull the buoy under water when the current speed increases. The Mojo Current Buoy has been designed to be deployed on sites with current speeds up to 9 knots whilst continuously transmitting live data to the receiving station, be it the installation vessel or a nearby shore station.

Jon Csehi, an engineer at Mojo who worked on the design said, “We were extremely pleased with the performance of the buoy and particularly with the quality of the data we received. The catamaran hull and relatively short length of the buoy provided a very stable platform for the ADCP and GPS equipment….We have also just finished some modifications to the buoy which will allow us to add more equipment like motion sensors and MET sensors so that it can be used for wider applications in places where conventional buoys aren’t good enough”.

FaB Test is a pre-consented two square kilometre area situated within Falmouth harbour between three and five kilometres offshore in Falmouth Bay. The site offers water depths of 20m-50m and seabed types; rock, gravel and sand.

FaB Test’s pre-consented status which allows for up to three devices to be deployed concurrently aims to provide a fast, flexible low cost solution for the testing of wave energy technologies, components, moorings and deployment procedures.

The Site is leased from Crown Estates and has a Marine Consent for testing subject to permits issued by Falmouth Harbour Commissioners.

Falmouth, on the south coast of Cornwall, offers;

Extensive dock facilities incorporating three dry docks, wharf space, cranage and a heavy load out quay.
An Experienced supply chain, with an impressive track record in delivering marine renewable projects.